A.J. Cronin (1896-1974) was a doctor by training. He practiced medicine inWales and in London. It was while recovering from a breakdown in health that he wrote his first novel Hatter's Castle. It was a huge success. Cronin gave up practicing medicine and took to writing as a career. He wrote a number of novels and short stories. Among his best-known novels are The Citadel, The key of the Kingdom, and The Spanish Gardener. Some of his novels have been made into successful films. The title of the story is that of one of the early plays of Shakespeare. The story recounts the hard life chosen by two young boys so that they could pay for the treatment of their sister afflicted with tuberculosis. The boys' sacrifice, their sincerity and devotion to the cause and the maturity they display in their actions gives a new hope for humanity.
A.J. Cronin has very well carved the idea of ‘selfless help ‘and explained the importance of dedication towards relationships in the story Two Gentlemen of Verona. The story revolves around the two boys named Nicola and Jacopo who do numerous things to earn money only to pay for their sister‘s treatment who suffers from tuberculosis of the spine. The story begins with the narrator driving down the foothills of the Alps. Here is when he first encounters the two brothers selling wild strawberries. Even after the driver forbade the narrator to buy the wild fruits, he bought the biggest basket and drove towards the town. This scene emphasizes on the first step of growing intimacy between the narrator and the two boys. Next day, the boys were found shining shoes in the public square. This amazed the narrator. Here is when they revealed the fact that they did numerous kinds of things to earn money. Here, the narrator is shown to develop a soft corner for them in his heart. He finds them to be innocent, serious, pleasant and earnest.
The boys are very useful for the narrator. They are very willing to satisfy all that the narrator required. They were also found selling newspapers by the narrator one stormy night. One day, when the narrator asked if he could help them in any way they said they would be very grateful if they got a lift to the nearby village Poleta. Although it didn’t come in the narrator‘s way he took them there. The boys got down in a building and asked the author to wait in a nearby café while they would be back within an hour. Eagerness led the narrator to follow the boys up to a place which was actually a hospital. On peeping through a room led by a nurse, he realized that the boys were talking to a girl who resembled them. He did not feel like intruding and thus asked the nurse the details about the boys. This is when the nurse told him there heart rendering story about their father being killed in a war and home being destroyed in a war and their sister suffering from tuberculosis. The brothers lived in a shelter and literally starved only so that they could pay for their sister‘s treatment. Keeping a secret and helping their sister showed that war had not shaken their spirit. They were noble and gentle and great human beings in their own special yet subtle way. This story distinctly talks about how true the amplification says: “All that glitters is not gold,” in turn explaining the fact that appearances are deceptive.
GLOSSORY
cautious : careful
shabby : ill-dressed
disapproval : criticize
brisk : good, quick
slackened : reduced
engaging : attractive
hawked : sold
errands : odd jobs
emigrate : take up citizenship of another country
vexation : annoyance
humble : modest
scarcely : hardly
intrude : enter without permission
Note
Two Gentlemen of Verona is written in the first person. A story written in the first person is a first-hand account of events told or narrated through the eyes of a single character, typically the main character. Stories written in the first person are easily identified by the use of the pronoun 'I' rather than 'he or she’. The reader will see phrases such as "I said, I thought," rather than "he said, she thought." Everything is experienced through the eyes of a single character, and all thoughts and observations are limited to that one person. There can be no outside observer. If the narrator does not see or experience an event firsthand, it cannot be a part of the story. All scenes in the story are filtered through this person's unique perception.
The third-person is a narrative mode in which both the reader and author observe the situation either through the senses and thoughts of more than one character, or through an overarching godlike perspective that sees and knows everything that happens and everything the characters are thinking. In this mode of narration, the narrator can tell the reader things that the main character does not know, or things that none of the characters know.
A J CRONIN
A.J. Cronin (1896-1974) was a doctor by training. He practiced medicine inWales and in London. It was while recovering from a breakdown in health that
he wrote his first novel Hatter's Castle. It was a huge success. Cronin gave up practicing medicine and took to writing as a career. He wrote a number of novels and short stories. Among his best-known novels are The Citadel, The key of the Kingdom, and The Spanish Gardener. Some of his novels have
been made into successful films. The title of the story is that of one of the early plays of Shakespeare. The story recounts the hard life chosen by two young boys so that they could pay for the treatment of their sister afflicted with tuberculosis. The boys' sacrifice, their sincerity and devotion to the cause and
the maturity they display in their actions gives a new hope for humanity.
Click on to the below link to avail details on the Unit's precised summary , character's attributes and new words.
http://www.studyrankers.com/2015/03/study-material-of-two-gentlemen-of-verona.html
A.J. Cronin has very well carved the idea of ‘selfless help ‘and explained the importance of dedication towards relationships in the story Two Gentlemen of Verona. The story revolves around the two boys named Nicola and Jacopo who do numerous things to earn money only to pay for their sister‘s treatment who suffers from tuberculosis of the spine.
The story begins with the narrator driving down the foothills of the Alps. Here is when he first encounters the two brothers selling wild strawberries. Even after the driver forbade the narrator to buy the wild fruits, he bought the biggest basket and drove towards the town. This scene emphasizes on the first step of growing intimacy between the narrator and the two boys.
Next day, the boys were found shining shoes in the public square. This amazed the narrator. Here is when they revealed the fact that they did numerous kinds of things to earn money. Here, the narrator is shown to develop a soft corner for them in his heart. He finds them to be innocent, serious, pleasant and earnest.
The boys are very useful for the narrator. They are very willing to satisfy all that the narrator required. They were also found selling newspapers by the narrator one stormy night. One day, when the narrator asked if he could help them in any way they said they would be very grateful if they got a lift to the nearby village Poleta. Although it didn’t come in the narrator‘s way he took them there. The boys got down in a building and asked the author to wait in a nearby café while they would be back within an hour.
Eagerness led the narrator to follow the boys up to a place which was actually a hospital. On peeping through a room led by a nurse, he realized that the boys were talking to a girl who resembled them. He did not feel like intruding and thus asked the nurse the details about the boys. This is when the nurse told him there heart rendering story about their father being killed in a war and home being destroyed in a war and their sister suffering from tuberculosis. The brothers lived in a shelter and literally starved only so that they could pay for their sister‘s treatment. Keeping a secret and helping their sister showed that war had not shaken their spirit. They were noble and gentle and great human beings in their own special yet subtle way. This story distinctly talks about how true the amplification says: “All that glitters is not gold,” in turn explaining the fact that appearances are deceptive.
GLOSSORY
Note
Two Gentlemen of Verona is written in the first person. A story written in the first person is a first-hand account of events told or narrated through the eyes of a single character, typically the main character. Stories written in the first person are easily identified by the use of the pronoun 'I' rather than 'he or she’. The reader will see phrases such as "I said, I thought," rather than "he said, she thought." Everything is experienced through the eyes of a single character, and all thoughts and observations are limited to that one person. There can be no outside observer. If the narrator does not see or experience an event firsthand, it cannot be a part of the story. All scenes in the story are filtered through this person's unique perception.
The third-person is a narrative mode in which both the reader and author observe the situation either through the senses and thoughts of more than one character, or through an overarching godlike perspective that sees and knows everything that happens and everything the characters are thinking. In this mode of narration, the narrator can tell the reader things that the main character does not know, or things that none of the characters know.